First Amendment Rights Attacked, ACLU Where Are You?

Arapahoe County, Colorado is persecuting a veteran public works employee because he advertises the fact that he is an English speaking American.

Mike Gray works for the Arapahoe County Road and Bridge Department. He also owns a lawn service business and drives a truck with a trailer he uses for that work. The trailer has a sign, "Lawn Services Done With Pride!! By An English Speaking American." (see above)

He also wears a U.S. Border Patrol hat that was a gift from his son.

Because of this "outrageous" behavior, Mike received a letter from his supervisor that said:

"Some of your conduct ... is reprehensible and discriminatory to our non-English speaking and/or Hispanic workforce. You are in violation of ... guidelines which ensure a workplace free from harassment and sensitive to the diversity of employees."

"You are required to permanently remove your cap from the workplace. It is offensive and harassing. Your business sign, if on work premises, must be completely covered at all times. This behavior is inappropriate and any further incidents of this nature may result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment."

The supervisors name is Monty Sedlak and the spokesperson, who declines to speak, for the county is Andrea Raszier. Feel free to contact them through the Arapahoe County link previously given. The question is, would this have been an issue if his sign said Spanish speaking? And, if someone is offended by the US Border Patrol logo that's their problem, not Mr. Gray's.

My next question is where is the Colorado ACLU to protect this man's first amendment rights?

On their site they claim to "protect, defend and extend the civil rights of all people in Colorado". One would expect that to include English speaking white people. Maybe the ACLU has a different definition.

Here's what their site says:

"The Colorado ACLU focuses on defending free speech and the right to dissent, securing religious liberty, combating racial profiling and discrimination, protecting the right to equal treatment for all people, insuring the right to fair play in encounters with government, and the right to be let alone, to be secure from interference in private matters."

But what do they really mean? We all know, don't we?

Thanks to Tongue Tied and more of the story here.